Anghus Houvouras on whether we really need a grounded Fantastic Four movie…
I’m just as prone to devolve into playing ‘armchair movie producer’ as any writer online. I’d like to believe I’m better than the raging masses screaming bloody murder about how their favorite comic book characters should be adapted. Fandom is interesting because often times we’re as responsible for the kind of choices studios make with properties as they are. They’re delivering what they think audiences want. For example, 20th Century Fox’s latest attempt at a Fantastic Four franchise. I read a quote from star Michael B. Jordan aka The Human Torch using a specific adjective to describe the new take on Marvel’s most famous family. The exact same sentiment was echoed by Kate Mara who’s playing Sue Storm as well as writer/producer Simon Kinberg.
They all say the new Fantastic Four movie is going to be ‘grounded.’ Their choice of words is both painfully deliberate and extremely troubling.
When I think of the Fantastic Four I think of super powered scientists travelling across time, space, and dimensions. I think about Galactus and the Silver Surfer. Annihilus and the Negative Zone. The Impossible Man. Doctor Doom and legions of Doombots. The Ultimate Nullifier. Paste Pot Pete. The Wizard. The Frightful Four. Mephisto. Skrull invasions.
At its best, The Fantastic Four is the most fun title in Marvel’s line up. It’s a blend of science and adventure. Even in the most grounded and tragic of their stories, there’s an epic level of fantasy and scope. It’s the last comic book on the face of the earth i would ever use the word ‘grounded’ to describe.
‘Grounded’ is a word to describe Batman. Or Daredevil. Characters that exist on a mortal plane dealing with mortal concerns. It’s also a blissfully overused adjective to describe a comic book property that you’re looking to tone down in the hopes of attracting a younger, hipper audience. The kind of soulless corporate speak that makes you cringe every time you hear it.
Let’s be real. The Fantastic Four is the kind of story and characters that deserves something grand, not something grounded. It’s a universe of interesting characters, super powered villains, and an entire multi-dimensional landscape of stories to tell.
I’m not dense enough to declare the whole project a wash (yet), but any ounce of anticipation I had for this project has been eradicated. Fox’s first attempt at Fantastic Four was strike one. Rise of the Silver Surfer was an equally insufferable strike two. The franchise is already two strikes down, and the way they’re describing the reboot is making me wonder if strike three isn’t already a foregone conclusion.
I would think the better route would be what Marvel has done with the properties they held onto and embraced the crazier elements of their characters. Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers… these are movies that have avoided grounding everything in reality and have embraced a ‘sky’s the limit’ attitude. As they develop properties like Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, and Ant-Man, you can clearly see the keys to their success have been indulging the weird and wonderful world these characters inhabit, not mitigating them.
Do they know something I don’t? I feel like I’m on crazy pills every time I hear the word ‘grounded’ being associated with The Fantastic Four. Am I alone here?
Anghus Houvouras is a North Carolina based writer and filmmaker. His latest work, the novel My Career Suicide Note, is available from Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.
Originally published June 4, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
